SBD

Many people expect new businesses to fail. Why? Because the unflattering statistics show that the majority of new businesses do fail within the first five years. There’s no sugar coating the message; business is risky and for casual observers it’s safer to assume that new enterprises will falter, because so many do. In other words, expect a new business to fail and you will be right more often than wrong.

Listening to business owners, you may find yourself confused by some of the jargon. For example, precisely what does John mean when he says, “Business is brisk!?” Have you wondered what Karen is getting at when she proudly proclaims, “I doubled my sales this month!”?

The thing is, an entrepreneur's language will often be slanted toward the cheery side. Entrepreneurial lingo is usually riddled with a positive spin, no matter how tough things get.

Sometimes you really have to read between the lines to understand what a business owner means. Fortunately, you can learn to speak the language. Here are some of the common terms you might hear around the water cooler, and what they actually mean:

1.“Sales have been modest.” This really means, “The till is empty. If my parents weren’t feeding me I would have staved to death four months ago.”

2.“Sales are projected conservatively.” Really means, “I have no clue how much I will sell, but my banker should be eating out of my hand once he realizes I'll be wealthy in six months and retired in twelve.”

3.“Profits are up from the last quarter.” Actually means, “I’m living with a buddy so the tax collectors can't find me.”

4."We're moving to a more suitable location." This might mean, "We fled under the cover of night with only our laptops when the bank foreclosed and put a lock on the door."

5.“My phone has been ringing off the hook.” Means, “Not sure how they found me this time, but dang those collections thugs don't quit!”

6. “I’m easing back on my advertising costs.” This whopper means, “If a living, breathing customer doesn’t fall into my shop before sundown, I’ll have to declare bankruptcy!”

7."I earned $100,000 last year." Almost always neglects the cost of those earnings, actually meaning, "After expenses, I barely had enough money for food. One more bout of wieners and beans and I'm gonna die!"

Hopefully the above list will equip you for that next water cooler chat and prepare you to understand the real meaning embedded within the entrepreneur's words.

The good news is that courageous people push forward and start businesses in spite of the daunting wall of negativity. And some succeed. This is at least partially because of the entrepreneur's ability to maintain a sense of humour and remain positive in the face of adversity.

Dan Boudreau is author of Business Plan or BUST! and hosts the RiskBuster Blog at www.riskbuster.com/blog.